Healing
by chloemcg
Summary: One-shot. A few months after his wife had perished, Espio takes it upon himself to raise his new son. However Espio is about to learn that being a father is more difficult then first thought. EspioXTikal


**Disclaimer: I don't own ANY characters of Sonic the hedgehog...but I do sort of own the Espikal kid, Peace. The rights to all the Sonic characters belong to SEGA.**

 **Healing.**

* * *

A ninja always worked tirelessly. They were silent as they kept to the shadows, they would always devote themselves to their duties, they would never stop until their quest was completed; ninjas were diligent and would persevere through even the toughest of challenges.

Espio the chameleon was no different.

The former Team Chaotix member sat on the floor with his legs crossed in a pretzel-shape as he hummed softly beneath his breath, his eyes closed and his breathing steady, silently meditating to himself as he contemplated on the events that taken place only recently. His heart ached as the wife he'd just lost flashed like a harsh light through his mind and a tear almost sprung in his tightly-shut eyes. The echidna's peachy pink/orange fur and dazzling sapphire blue eyes stuck out in his mind, her kindness knew no bounds and he honestly adored her and would have done everything to make her happy and keep her safe.

His lifetime was filled with hardships but Tikal was his release from those hardships, even if she was physical manifestation of a spirit from the past bound to the Master emerald.

However...that was before she...she "died", protecting their one and only treasure.

Their son.

It had been a few weeks since the baby had hatched from his egg, but also a couple of months since Tikal had sacrificed herself after Eggman had tampered with the Master emerald —thus causing her link to the giant gem to disappear and make her do the same. The purple chameleon had never thought that being a father would be so trying and dealing with the loss of his wife made it all the more hard to cope with, but he was determined not to let Tikal's death be in vain.

But, whilst he may have been a single father to the hatchling, he still had the support of Vector and Charmy. Espio was glad to have his friends assist him during this terrible time and he felt incredibly blessed to have found such good friends...

But he was very concerned for his son, Peace.

The small infant didn't sleep too well and he would always be restless, he would cry and cry for hours on end unhappily...which was odd since he didn't seem to cry much even when he first hatched from his egg. It was so bad that if Espio hadn't known any better then he would have suspected that Peace would have sensed the difficulties he was going through with losing his beloved wife/the mother of his son.

He meditated quietly as he breathed in and out as he calmly let his lungs inflate and deflate with each breath of oxygen he took. He loved to meditate since he would always find himself in a place of inner peace and a place where the words "worry" or "fear" or even "sadness" existed, he would feel the pulse in his wrists pulsate steadily and the sensation of his heart fluttering was just enough to make his mind become clear yet steady, like rippling water becoming still.

He could feel the warmth of sunshine beam through the windows and sheen against his form, warming up his violet purple scales.

The Mobian chameleon ninja couldn't deny how relaxing it felt.

Alas, then all quietude had been shattered.

Espio's eyelids peeled open to reveal a pair of deep yellow irises that gleamed with well-contained exhaustion and good-natured tranquility when a muffled familiar sound broke the silence. Alarm shown itself on his face as he quickly climbed to his feet...or he tried to, because it appeared that his legs had fallen asleep and gone numb as a consequence for having them in such a unnatural position for so much time.

He shook it off eventually, though, and found the strength to stand up.

When Espio felt the trickling sensation of pins and needles fade away, he started to run as fast as he could towards the source of the sound. The child was clearly upset —his cries told the fatherly chameleon that much— and whenever he heard those shrill high-pitched cries, alarm bells would go off inside his mind and he would become very fearful for his boy; what if Eggman targeted him, what if he was hurt, what if something had happened where Peace was in danger?!

Within as little time as a chameleon's legs would allow, he found himself in a small compact room filled with the necessities of what an egg or an infant-hatched-from-an-egg would need with a Japanese-themed flare in the decorating.

The floor was made from well-woven thatch, the walls were built from the finest of mahogany that had pretty cherry orchid blossoms etched into the wood, on the walls hung several photographs of Chao, Espio with Tikal and other random things, some posters and even a traditional Japanese calendar. On the ceiling was a mobile that had little Yin and yang symbols, Chao figurines, and little green gemstones hanging down from it.

Espio rushed right over towards the crib made completely out of the toughest of bamboo with a little orange ball of fur occupying it.

Baby Peace was a peculiar-looking infant. He looked like an average chameleon but he had a little black nose on the end of his peach muzzle, he had a little yellow horn protruding from his forehead, he a beige coloured spot around his horn and some more colouring his head points, he had an Echidna's zig-zagged tail and he had inherited his mother's sapphire blue eyes.

Peace's eyes were slammed shut at the moment as he cried, he hardly seemed to notice the adult chameleon peering down upon him.

Espio swiftly reached down into Peace's bed and gently scooped him up, situating him in his arms so he could hold him in the most comforting manner possible. It never ceased to amaze the Ninja chameleon how light his little bundle was, or how strong he seemed whenever he would grab on to one of his fingers and squeeze it tightly. Even though he was so small he seemed so brave to cope with the hardships that was thrown his way even though he is really young.

The teeny hatchling cried and cried as he kicked his little pudgy arms and legs in distress.

The little echidmeleon's cries died down a bit, diminishing into a series of sniffles and sobs as he lay in his father's arms.

In the meantime, the purple Chameleon pondered on the current situation; he had to assume that the youngling was simply having nightmares or something as it hadn't been too long since Peace had been put down for his sleep and everything else regarding the hatchling had been taken care of for now. Maybe Peace didn't want to be alone right now and, to be perfectly honest, neither did Espio.

The ninja held his son tight in his arms with a frown of concern stretched upon his dark tan muzzle; each time

"Hush, my son...what is it that's troubling you...?" Espio asked the crying Chameleon/Echidna hybrid.

That was when a thought hit him.

He vividly recalled that when he was small and felt insecure, his own mother would carry him around by letting him latch on to her tail and he instantly felt safe and contented whenever he did so. It was customary for baby chameleons to hold on to their mother's tails, to enhance their climbing abilities for when they grew up.

Would it work for his son, though...?

There was one way to find out.

The Mobian chameleon uncurled his tail and held it out for his small son to take. Peace hardly even hesitated before he reached and held on tight to his father's tail, he hung upside down but his squeaks of upset diminished gradually as he bounced up and down with each and every step his ninja father took whilst he made his way through the house.

He let the echidmeleon hold his tail tightly.

The youngling seemed to have grown pacified by the gentle bouncing as he clung on to the adult's long extra limb for dear life, he even started to let out a squeak of delight; he glanced curiously at his surroundings with pure curiosity etched upon his adorable little face. He seemed to be in complete awe as he stared at the walls and the ceiling and the photos that hung on the wall.

But there was one that caught his eye in particular.

"Ahh...!"

Espio flinched when he felt the tiny Echidna/Chameleon hybrid's clasp on his tail tighten considerably, thus causing him to stop dead in his tracks, and he looked over his left shoulder in order to look down behind him to get a good look at his little son whose gaze appeared fixed upon something that was on his left. The purple chameleon ninja of Team Chaotix was rather perplexed and confused by what Peace was so inquisitive about, the little orange fur ball had seemed rather intrigued.

Espio followed Peace's gaze, but a pained expression flashed across his features when he did.

It was a framed picture of Tikal.

She was holding an egg.

The photo depicted the peachy/orange echidna smiling sweetly with her eyes drifted down to look at the egg she carried close to her chest, she had tears in her eyes and her eyelids were halfway closed over them to paint a motherly, caring expression upon her face. That photo had been taken just days before she...passed on, he'd forgotten it was even still hanging on the wall.

He could feel a tickling sensation behind his eyes as memories of Tikal flashed through his mind.

The way she took tender loving care of the Chao garden, the way she saw the value in every living thing, the way she smiles, the memories of those tender, loving moments they shared together...each memory felt like a stab in the heart for him.

Espio was jolted from his thoughtful state when he felt something poke his chest, his eyes widened and a sharp gasp of shock slipped from his lungs. He didn't know what it was that he just saw but he was totally confused by it. What could have—? Before he could finish that thought, he looked down and found Peace had _somehow_ managed to let go of his tail and was now snuggling into his chest. His heart swelled up to ten sizes larger and he felt as though it had become so warm that it may as well have been warming up on a radiator for awhile.

The ninja chameleon smiled sadly at his son.

"Gomen, little one...your otosan was just..." he trailed off, unable to finish that sentence.

He swallowed.

Hard.

He needed to keep his emotions at bay, if not for his own sake then for his son's.

Espio stared at the picture longingly, his arms curling themselves around the infant Echidmeleon, and he managed to steel himself as his eyes locked firmly on the photograph of his late lover. He stared at the picture for what felt like hours —eventually he managed to finally force himself to speak. "This...Th-This is your mother."

Peace just stayed silent, as if reading the quiet atmosphere, while looking perplexedly at the female echidna in the picture.

The two looked sadly at the picture for what felt like an eternity until Espio finally decided to perk up and he glanced down at the young hatchling he was cradling in his arms and sighed, then he smiled down at his son.

"It is a glorious day outside, why don't we go to the Chao garden?"

The reply he got was a happy squeak from Peace, clearly he had no objections.

Espio chuckled softly as he knew that the one and only thing he could do to keep Tikal's memory alive would have to be to go to her one and only favourite spot. One of her favourite things to do was to go out there, with her egg, while Espio solved mysteries with Vector and Charmy during their detective days. She would love to spend quality time with the little Chao and also spend some time with the water god Chaos.

Who knows? Maybe going to the Chao garden would be beneficial to the both of them, maybe it would help them both heal.

Espio made his way out the front door of the house and he carried his son out into the outside world where the sunshine was awaiting them. He knew that it would probably take quite some time but he hoped that, someday, they would both heal. He would be sure to sprinkle as much as Tikal into their son's life.

He promised to himself that he would raise Peace to the best of his ability.

* * *

 **A/N: Here's the end of this little one-shot, I originally got the idea to write this after watching a Tangled series episode when Repunzel meets Pascal and it shows Pascal's mother letting him hang upside down whilst latching on to her tail, it was so cute that I HAD to incorporate that in this.**

 **I also added some Japanese words here, such as Espio referring to himself as "Otosan" and saying "Gomen".**

 **I hope you guys liked this!**

 **please review and fave!**

 **-Chloemcg**


End file.
